Automatic vent-valve for heating systems.



G. B; EDDY.

AUTOMATIC VENT VALVE FOR HEATING SYSTEMS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3. 1913.

1,1 90,877. Patented July 11, 1916.

GEORGE B. EDDY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC VElifT-VALVE FOR HEATING SYSTEMS,

Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented July 11, 1916.

Application filed February 3, 1913. Serial No. 745,792.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. EDDY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Vent-Valvesfor Heating Systems, of which the following is a specification.

V This invention relates to improvements in automatic vent valves'forheating systems, etc, and it has for its salient objects to provide aconstruction in which the thermostatic element is a separate andindependently formed removable element which may preferably accommodateitself to variations due to mechanical inaccuracies, and which, becauseof its independent construction, is much less susceptible to injury ormalformation during the fitting and adjusting and dis-assembling of theassociated parts of the valve; to provide a construction in which thethermostatic element automatically recedes by gravity or equivalentmeans from contact with the valve member which it controls, thus causingthe retracting action of said valve member to depend upon pressurerather than making the thermostatic element (which is necessarily quitefrail) do this work; to provide a construction in which the inletopening controlled by the thermostatic valve is formed through apartition within the valve casing, a sediment chamber being formedbetween the main inlet passage and this valve-controlled passage, sothat the lodging of sediment upon the valve seat is guarded against; toprovide a normally closed outlet leading from the bottom of the sedimentchamber into the main outlet of the valve, whereby the sediment chambermay be cleaned from time to time; to so organize the device as a wholethat the normal thermostatic controlled valve-passage may be closed downand the passage for cleansing the sediment chamber utilized as arestricted or freely open by-pass at certain times; to provide aconstruction which is capable of more accurate and perfect adjustment asto the relations of a thermostatic element to the parts acted upon thanhas heretofore been devised; and in general, to provide a simple,eflicient, cheaply constructed and reliable device of the generalcharacter referred to. r

To the above ends the invention consists in the matters hereinafterdescribed, and

more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings-Figure 1 is a vlew of a fragmentary portion ofan ordinary radiator with my improved valve properly applied; Fig. 2 isa central vertical sectional view, taken in the plane of the line 22 ofFig 3 of the valve; Fig. 3 is a hori-- zontal sectional view taken inthe plane of the line 33 of Fig. 2 and looking downwardly.

eferring to the drawings,'l designates as a whole the main valve casing,which may be a hollow, cup-like body provided with a removable cap 2 anddesirably provided with an externally threaded inlet nipple 3 andinternally threaded outlet nipple 1. The'interior of the valve casing isseparated by a vertical transverse partition 5, the lower end portion ofwhich is deflected into horizontal position, as indicated at 5, andextended to the face wall, thereby separating the interior of the valveinto a main chamber 6 and combined inlet and sediment chamber 7 themain'chamber 6 having an extension 6 which extends directly beneath aportion of the sediment chamber. A supporting spider 8 is castintegrally to occupy the central vertical portion of the main chamber;said spider preferably having one upstanding central arm 8 and twohorizontal lateral arms 8", and also an upwardly projecting bored andthreaded stud 9. The cover 2 is held in place by a top screw 10extending through the'cover and engaging the stud 9.

Throughthe hub of the spider 8 is bored. a horizontal bearing aperture11, and in axial alinement with said aperture is formed through thepartition 5 a valve port 12 having upon its side toward said spider abevel seat'12. A valve plug 13 is fitted to slide freely but accuratelythrough the aperture in the spider; the end of this plug beingsphericaland adapted to co-act with the port 12 to close the latter.

Through the back side of the valve casing is formed a threaded aperture14 in aline ment with the valve plug 13, and in which is fitted anadjustable set screw 15. On the set screw is fitted a lock-nut 16 bywhich the screw may be locked reliably against move ment afteradjustment, and its inner end is squared off to form a supportingsurface, between which and the corresponding opposed end surface of thevalve plug 18 is interposed an expansible thermostatic element 17.

The thermostatic element 17 is a hollow disk-like body formed of thinmetal, preferably concentrically corrugated so as to afford markedfreedom of movement of the sides toward and from each other in expandtheelement described, and bodily adjustment of the element in the directionof the axis of the valve plug. The width of the chamber is, however,such as to confine the element into approximately central position inthe valve chamber, as seen clearly in Fig.

3. The element 17 is, of course, filled with a fluid which expands andcontracts with the variations in the temperature in a Well understoodmanner.

A flushing out port 1 8 is formed in the bot-tom of the sediment-chamber7 to form communication between the latter and the extension 6 of themain valve chamber, and said'port' is controlled by a screw plug 19which is inserted through a suitably internally threaded aperture 20leading down through the top side of the valve. This side of the valvecasing is at this point very thick and the screw plug 19 is short enoughso that when seated in its port its upper end will terminate somedistance below the upper end of the threaded opening 20. The extremeupper end portion of this aperture 20 is occupied by a screw plug 21,and in order that the screw plug 19 may be manipulated it is providedwith a screw slot 19, as shown. A shoulder 22 on the lower end of theplug serves as a stop to positively limit the screwing in movement ofthe plug.

The connections with the nipples 3 and a are of usual construction, andneed not be specifically described.

In operation, this valve is susceptible of use in several-improved ways.When the set screw 15 has been adjusted into proper relation to theexpansible element 17 the valve operates as an ordinary automaticthermostatically closing valve. That is to say, when the interior of thevalve is cold the valve plug 13 is freeto move back and thus permit air,water or steam to pass through the port 12 from the radiator to thedischarge Pipe, and when the temperature rises sufficiently by theinflow of steam or hot water the thermostatic element forces the valveto its seat and automatically shuts off such flow.

In the operation of the valve the screw plug 19 which controls thebypass port stands directly opposite the port 12 and acts as a deflectorwhich effectively baffles the flow of sediment into the port 12. /Vhenthe valve has beenin use for some time and a quantity of sediment hascollected in the bottom of the sediment chamber it may be flushed outand in fact positively forced out by simply taking out the screw 21 andthen backing out the screw-plug 19 far enough to open the, portcontrolled thereby, but without opening the valve casing to theexterior. The steam and water will thenfind a direct passage through theby-pass to the outlet and so cleanse out the sediment. When the systemhas been newly installed, and the pipes maintained more or less dirt andsediment, the thermostatic element may be removed and the set screwturned in to engage the valve plug and positively hold closed the port12. The by-pass plug 19 may then be raised and adjusted so as to afforda restricted passage through the by-pass port, which passage willsufficiently regulate the flow of the heating fluid for temporarypurposes and will atthe same time permit the sediment to pass onthroughthe pipes, so that the system may be cleaned up before it isadjusted for automatic regulation. In the same manner any one of thesevalves may be then converted into a non-automatic butadjustably-controlled outlet valve temporarily while the thermostaticelement is taken out for exchange or repair.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention, yet it will be obvious that the details of construction andarrangement may be somewhat modified without departing from the spiritof the invention. I do not, therefore, intend the claims to be limitedto exact details except in so far as they are made specific in terms.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a valve of the character described, the combination with the outervalve-casing, of an internal partition including an upright portion,dividing the interior into two chambers, one constituting a combinedinlet and sediment chamber and the other a main chamber in communicationwith the outlet, said partition being provided with a valve port in itsupright portion, a thermostatic element and valve mechanism controlledthereby arranged wholly within said main chamber and operating to conbyside inlet and main chambers, the lower end of said partition beingdeflected laterally to meet the side wall of the casing at a point abovethe bottom of the main chamber, whereby a portion of the inlet chamberis superposed above a portion of the main chamber, said partition beingprovided in its upright, portion with a valve port and in its deflectedlower portion withanother port, a valve support extending into said mainchamber, a valve plug slidably mounted in said support and arranged tocooperate with the port in the upright part of said partition, anadjustable stop screw threaded through the side wall of the casingopposite the end of the valve plug, said stop screw being capable ofadjustment to directly engage the valve plug and hold it against itsseat, and retractable to provide a substantial space between the end ofthe stop screw and end of the valve plug, an expansible thermostaticelement loosely interposed between the stop screw and valve plug, and ascrew plug threaded to extend through the upper portion of the valvecasing, its lower end entering and closing said port in the deflectedpart of said partition, whereby said screw plug may be retracted to openthe port controlled thereby without opening the valve casing to theexterior.

3. In a valve, the combination of an internal partition provided with aport therethrough, of a screw plug threaded through the exterior wall ofsaid valve casing and controlling said port, the part of said valvecasing through which the plug extends being relatively thick, the screwplug being of such length that when seated against the port its head endwill terminate a substantial distance inside the outer surface of thevalve casing, and a separate closure closing the outer end of the borein which said screw plug is seated.

4. In a valve of the character described, the combination with the outervalve casing, of an internal partition dividing the interior into twochambers side by side, one of said chambers constituting a combinedinlet and sediment chamber and the other a main chamber communicatingwith the outlet, said partition being provided with a valve port in itsupright portion and a bypass port through the lower side of the sedimentchamber, an automatic valve mechanism arranged in the main chamber tocontrol the upper valve port, and a plug extending through the inlet andsediment chamber and normally closing the bypass,

said plug being arranged directly opposite but spaced away from thevalve port and in the direct line of flow of the fluid on its waythrough the inlet chamber to said port, whereby said plug acts as adeflector to prevent sediment passing into said valve port.

5. In a valve of the combination with the outer valve-casing, of aninternal partition having an upright portion and dividing the interiorof the casing into two chambers side byside,

the character described,

one'constituting an inlet chamber and the other a main chamber incommunication with the outlet, a valve-support extending into the mainchamber and provided with a horizontal valve-supporting aperturetherein, a valve wholly within said main chamber mounted in saidvalve-support and unrestrained from sliding freely therein, a portextending through said partition and located in axial alinement withsaid valve and controlled by the latter, a thermostatic elementinterposed between the other end of the valve and the opposed side wallof the chamber, and an adjustable stop mounted in. said latter side wallof the chamber and adapted to cooperate with the proximate side of saidthermostatic element.

7 6. In a valve of the character described, the combination with thevalve casing, of a valve member mounted to slide unrestrainedly on ahorizontal support, and a valve port controlled thereby, of athermostatic element within the valve chamber adapted to move said valvemember to its seat, said element resting upon and having pivotal andunstable engagement with the floor or lower wallv of the casing andarranged to tend to tilt by gravity and an adjustable stop associatedwith said thermostatic element.

7. In a valve of the character described,

the combination with a valvecasing, of a valve plug horizontally andslidably mounted therein and provided at its frontend with a valvemember controlling an inlet port, an adjustable stop member, and athermostatic element loosely interposed between the rear end of thevalve plug and ALBERT H. GRAVES, EMILIE. RosE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

